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Macbeth
|crimes = Regicide Abuse of power Murder Conspiracy Incrimination |type of villain = Traitorous Tyrant}} Macbeth is the main protagonist villain of William Shakespeare's famous tragedy of the same name. He was formerly a brave warrior, before becoming corrupted with ambition after hearing three witches' prophecies which state that he will become Thane of Cawdor and then King of Scotland. He becomes so obsessed with power that he becomes a murderous tyrant, and ultimately causes his own downfall. History Macbeth is King Duncan's greatest general, as well as the Thane of the region Glamis. One day, when the treacherous Macdonwald betrayed the kingdom in an attempt to seize the throne, Macbeth single handedly defeats Macdonwald's army and eventually Macdonwald himself, and subsequently helps defeat the army of Sweden when they try to take advantage of the chaos. These actions earn Macbeth great admiration and gratitude from Duncan, who decides to declare him the new Thane of Cawdor (as the old one was to be executed for his treachery) as a reward. Meanwhile, Macbeth and his friend and fellow general Banquo, still on the battlefield, meet the three Wyrd Sisters. The Sisters hail Macbeth as the current Thane of Glamis, the new Thane of Cawdor, and the future King of Scotland, while also stating Banquo's family shall rule Scotland for generations after Macbeth. The Sisters then vanish and both Ross and Lennox arrive to tell Macbeth of his ascension to the Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth, now knowing the second part of the Sisters' prophecy was true, wonders if this means he will become King of Scotland, but Banquo advises him not to listen to this, as the Sisters may be trying to lead him down a dark path with promises of power and a better life. When Macbeth returns to his castle, his wife, Lady Macbeth, urges him to kill Duncan and take the throne. Macbeth refuses at first, but over time Lady Macbeth convinces him to do it by appealing to his pride and ambition. When Duncan stays at his home one night, Macbeth kills him in his sleep and frames two guards. Duncan's sons Malcolm and Donalbain deduce that their father's assassin will come for them next and flee the country, leaving Macbeth to usurp the throne. Once in power, Macbeth becomes a tyrant, killing anyone who poses a threat to his power. He orders Banquo and his son Fleance killed to prevent the witches' prophecy about Banquo's line from coming true, but his assassins succeed only killing Banquo; Fleance escapes, meaning that he will one day become king and father a dynasty. Banquo's bloodied ghost appears at Macbeth's dinner table during a banquet, sending him into a paranoid rage. He goes to the witches again to ask about his future, and they tell him that he is safe until "Birnam Wood do come to Dunsinane", and that "no man of woman born" can harm him. Nevertheless, he grows wary of a dissident lord named Macduff and orders his death. Macbeth's assassins show up at Macduff's castle to find him gone, and murder his wife and children. Meanwhilre, Lady Macbeth is so overcome with remorse for what she and her husband have done that she goes insane and commits suicide. Upon hearing of his wife's death, Macbeth loses the will to live, but nevertheless resolves to fight an army led by Malcolm and Macduff out of spite. Macduff's army arrive wearing armor made of wood from Birnam trees, revealing the double meaning of the witches' first prophecy. When he faces Macduff, he declares himself invincible, citing the witches' prophecy; Macduff replies that he was a premature birth and surgically removed from his mother's womb, meaning that, technically, he was not "of woman born". Finally realizing the witches' treachery, Macbeth resolves to die fighting and attacks Macduff with full fury. While Macbeth puts up a valiant fight, Macduff ultimately gets the better of him and kills him. Film portrayals Macbeth has been portrayed by several notable actors in the many film adaptations of Shakespeare's play. They include: *Orson Welles - who also portrayed Harry Lime in The Third Man, ''Hank Quinlan in ''Touch of Evil ''and Le Chiffre in the 1967 film adaptation of ''Casino Royale ''- in the 1948 film adaptation *Michael Fassbender - who also portrayed Magneto in the ''X-Men ''prequel films, David 8 in ''Alien: Covenant, and Edwin Epps in 12 Years a Slave ''- in the 2015 adaptation *Patrick Stewart - who portrayed Rafe Bentley in ''Masterminds, Locutus in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Avery Bullock in American Dad! - in the 2010 BBC adaptation *Ian McKellan - who portrayed Magneto in the original X-Men ''films and Kurt Dussander in ''Apt Pupil ''- in the 1979 TV movie adaptation *Sean Connery - who also portrayed Sir August De Wynter in the 1998 adaption of ''The Avengers - in the 1961 television film adaption Gallery Orson-Welles-Macbeth.jpg|Orson Welles as Macbeth. Sean-Connery-Macbeth.jpg|Sir Sean Connery as Macbeth. Sir-Ian-McKellen-Macbeth.jpg|Sir Ian McKellen as Macbeth. Patrick-Stewart-Macbeth.jpg|Sir Patrick Stewart as Macbeth. Michael-Fassbender-Macbeth.jpg|Michael Fassbender as Macbeth in the 2015 film. Macbeth-Fassbender-Textless-poster.jpg|Macbeth textless poster. Macbeth-poster-cropped.jpg Macbeth_fassbender_1280.jpg HoTrT5OzRBbLeXovYGFBQ6wrp1.jpg Trivia *Macbeth has become such an iconic villain that he has inspired several other villains: **Saruman was inspired by Macbeth. Tolkien hated the original end of Macbeth, with the forest turning out to be a human army. He said he would do the story right and make living trees attack the king. One of the inspirations of Lord of the Rings is Macbeth. **Megatron may have been inspired by Macbeth, given that in the live action films he ruled Cybertron, but betrayed his post. *Macbeth is considered such an ill-reputed name that no one will ever speak his name aloud in a theater. Reasons for this are that when King James witnessed the play he was disgusted, and Shakespeare sank into a depression and regretted writing the play. This, coupled with the rumors Shakespeare angered real witches who cursed the play, gives the play the reputation of being cursed. It was highly controversial at the time because of its graphic depictions of regicide. **To this end, Lord Voldemort may also have been inspired by Macbeth, given that no one in modern times will speak his name aloud. *In reality, the real Macbeth was actually a good king. Shakespeare had a knack of twisting events to his own narration (much as what happens in cinema now). 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